Family Affair
by lovelovelove22
Summary: 23 Year old Bella is dating 45 year old Carlisle, and their romance is perfect. But then Bella mets his three children, and things change when she befriends Edward. Man, I suck at summaries....
1. Chapter 1

**New story!**

**This is my 21st story for this site since March…which I think is pretty amazing. I've written 21 stories, 194 Chapters, 210,536 words, and gotten over 1500 reviews. So bear with me if the gap between chapters is long. Because I've got a lot going on!**

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BPOV

"Do you think they'll like me?" I asked nervously, looking in the vanity's mirror. Carlisle came up behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder, kissing my ear gently.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they? You're beautiful, you're smart, you're a good cook, you're good in-"

"Ok, those are some of the reasons _you _like me. I'm talking about your three kids here." I laughed, turning my head to nuzzle Carlisle's shoulder.

"Bella, it's going to be fine. Just stop worrying, alright?" Carlisle kissed my cheek and straightened up, adjusting his tie as he did so. I shrugged and stood up as well, smoothing down any wrinkles that may have formed on my blue dress. "Are you ready?" He asked, holding his hand out to me.

"Yes." I smiled weakly and followed Carlisle downstairs, more nervous than I have ever been.

But I didn't know why. I had been dating Carlisle Cullen for over a year, and I was just now meeting his three kids. All of which are around my age.

Yes, that was probably the thing making me so nervous. Carlisle had been married to his high school sweetheart, Esme Platt, and they had three kids together before divorcing in their late 30's. Emmett was 24, and Alice and Edward, who were twins, had just turned 23. Just like me. And although Carlisle is only 45, technically I could be his daughter. But that shouldn't matter to me, and it didn't, because I loved him. He was sweet and smart and handsome, and basically everything a girl wants in a man. So his age didn't matter.

His kids knew that he had been dating me for over a year now, but they had no idea how old I was, the fact that I had just moved in with their father, or even my name.

"Bella, I told you, it's going to be fine. The kids have met girlfriends of mine before, and it hasn't been a problem." Carlisle soothed me, noticing that I was nervously drumming my fingers on the dashboard of his Mercedes as we drove to the restaurant.

"I know." I took a deep breath and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "It's just...how are they going to take the fact that I'm their age and I just moved in with you?" I exclaimed.

"Their mother and I have been divorced for over six years now. I'm sure they expected me to settle down with someone _eventually_." I raised my eyebrows at him and he reluctantly continued, tightening his grip on the steering wheel and exhaling. "As for the age thing…they'll get over it. They're all very mature." I calmed down a little bit, praying that his words were true.

"Tell me a little more about them." I prompted, relaxing in my seat. Carlisle smiled wryly; not taking his eyes off the road.

"Emmett is 24, and is engaged to Rosalie, who he's been dating for three years. He's a pilot. Alice is 23, and is a fashion designer. She and her boyfriend Jasper live in New York." I nodded, trying to absorb this information for future uses. "And Edward is Alice's twin. He's a lawyer. Well, he will be. He starts at Harvard Law School in the fall."

"Alright. Emmett is engaged to Rosalie, works as a pilot….Alice dating Jasper, fashion designer…and Edward is going to Harvard Law. Got it." I tapped the side of my head and Carlisle chuckled, moving one of his hands from the steering wheel to cup my cheek.

"You're adorable." He sighed, his dusty green eyes sparkling. I grinned and kissed his palm as he pulled up to the restaurant's valet.

"I try." I giggled as Carlisle handed the keys to the valet and extended his hand to help me out of the car. I wobbled a little in my stilettos, but regained my balance by clutching onto Carlisle's arm. "Ok. I can do this." I muttered, and Carlisle wrapped his arm around my waist.

We walked through the restaurant; my heels clicking on the wood floor. Carlisle's casual smile stayed in place, but I was still trying to act normal.

"There they are." Carlisle said, nodding towards a table in the center of the vast room. I could spot five people sitting at the round table; two with blonde hair, two with very dark brown hair, and one with very unusual, but beautiful, bronze hair. I bit my lip and Carlisle squeezed my hip. "Just relax." He murmured as we approached the table. Five pairs of eyes were suddenly on me, and I would have frozen in my place if Carlisle hadn't half-pulled me into the seat he had pulled out for me.

"Hey, dad." The tiny dark haired girl, who had to be Alice, reached across the table and squeezed her father's hand. She was sitting next to a tall blonde man that must have been her boyfriend, Jasper. Everyone else said their hello's and then their eyes were on me again.

The bronze haired one, who was stunningly handsome and who I assumed was Edward, cleared his throat and jutted his chin towards me.

"Who's this?" He asked, his voice low and velvety. Carlisle smirked and draped his arm around my shoulders.

"This is Bella Swan, my girlfriend." He said, and everyone looked a little confused.

"Your _girlfriend_?" The tall, burly guy at the other side of the table blurted out, and the blonde woman next to him elbowed him in the ribs. That, I decided, was Emmett and Rosalie.

"Yes, she-" Carlisle was interrupted my his buzzing beeper. He sighed and reached for it, shaking his head. "That's the hospital, I have to take this." He stood up and pecked me on the lips. I widened my eyes, pleading him not to leave me alone at a table with his children and their dates. Carlisle shrugged apologetically. "I'll be right back." He promised, disappearing towards the front of the restaurant. I nervously traced the rim of my wineglass, blushing a little.

"You do know he's 45, right?" Emmett asked bluntly, and Rosalie elbowed him again. But she looked curious. They all did.

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**So…what do you think? Please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay, this story has only been up for about 10 hours and already has ten reviews. Thanks, guys.**

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EPOV

"So what do we know about this one?" I asked as I slipped into my seat next to Jasper. Emmett shrugged, stuffing a roll into his mouth as he did so.

"Nothing, really." He managed after he swallowed the roll. "She's really smart, apparently. And grew up in Washington. That's all I could get out of dad on the phone this morning."

"He wouldn't even tell you her name?" Alice asked incredulously. Emmett shook his head.

"Nope. I could, however, hear someone's voice in the background, so I know that she was at his place at eight o'clock in the morning." Emmett said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Ugh. I don't need to know that." Alice shuddered, taking a sip of her wine.

"None of us did." Rosalie chimed in, pinching Emmett's side. "Emmett, just be nice to her. This one will probably be out of here in a couple of months, just like all the others."

This time, I shook my head.

"Rose, they've already been dating for over a year. Something tells me she's sticking around for awhile." Rosalie took a sip of her wine, the expression on her face thoughtful.

"Maybe she's actually his age, other than those 30 year old plastic surgery veterans he usually picks up." She suggested. "That could explain why this relationship is lasting longer than all the others."

"Well, your mom was Carlisle's age and _that_ relationship definitely didn't last." Jasper said, tracing his finger on the embossed tablecloth. "I think your father just needs to find someone he won't get bored with, and someone who won't realize how…demanding he is."

Emmett scrunched his eyebrows.

"Well, mom wants to know all about her. She called about two minutes after I got off the phone with dad this morning, and she grilled me for at least twenty minutes."

"Emmett, that's not fair." Rosalie scolded him. "Your poor mother has seen all those women your father's been with, and she hasn't even dated anyone since the divorce. She just wants to know who's filling her shoes, and-"

"Or she's just bored and nosy." Emmett snorted. Rosalie rolled her eyes and took another sip of her wine. "Hey, there's dad." He said in a hushed voice, craning his neck.

"Act normal, dumbass!" Alice hissed, ducking her head in an attempt to act normal.

Carlisle approached the table and pulled a chair out. I took this opportunity to swivel my head and get a glimpse of my father's mystery girlfriend. And what I saw, it _couldn't _be real...

She was young. _My _age young. And she had long. Wavy brown hair and big brown eyes…an amazing body, and she was obviously very nervous.

Everyone exchanged greetings, and all eyes were on _her_. I cleared my throat, jutting my chin towards her. Carlisle smiled cockily and rested his arm across her shoulders.

"This is Bella Swan, my girlfriend." He said, and my mouth nearly dropped open. There was no way in _hell_ my father could be dating someone this young.

But she really was beautiful.

Unfortunately, Emmett could not handle himself the way Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and I had managed to.

"Your _girlfriend_!?" He exclaimed, and Rosalie immediately elbowed him hard in the ribs, a confused smile plastered on her face.

"Yes, she-" Carlisle began, but his pager went off before he could finish his sentence. "That's the hospital, I have to take this." He said, standing up and kissing Bella on the lips. Ugh. She looked completely petrified at the idea of being alone with the five of us. "I'll be right back." He said distractedly, walking away and towards the front of the restaurant. Bella was blushing now, nervously playing with her wineglass, tracing the rim with her manicured finger. I was aware that we were all staring at her, but I didn't care.

This was just too weird.

"You do know he's 45, right?" Emmett spoke first, his voice laced with disbelief and confusion. Rosalie elbowed him yet again, although she had the same look on her face. Bella looked surprised, but she cleared her throat.

"Yes. I know." She said, blushing even brighter red.

"And you're what…26?" This time Alice spoke, her eyebrows raised high.

"23." Bella looked mortified now. But damn, she was _23_? The same age as Alice and I? Our father sure as hell had a warped taste in women.

No one said anything for a moment, and then ever-polite Jasper broke the silence.

"So…where did you meet Carlisle?" He asked awkwardly, taking a big sip of his wine.

"Um, I'm kind of…accident prone." Bella admitted. "I slipped on ice last winter and hit my head, and when they took me to the ER, Carlisle was my doctor. We kind of hit it off." She said awkwardly, twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

"You're nothing like the others." I heard myself say, and I almost instantly regretted it. Her face took on a hurt, confused look, and I hurried to elaborate. "I mean, most of them are bleach-blonde 30 year olds with a shitload of plastic surgery and giant fake boobs. You…you're just a lot different."

"In a good way." Alice interjected. "Those women were poisonous."

"Oh." Bella said, relaxing the tiniest bit. "I understand if the age thing is weird for you, but honestly, I really love Carlisle." She said softly, and I shook my head in disbelief. It was so weird to hear a woman like this one, so young, say that about my father.

"What did I miss?" Carlisle asked, reappearing and sitting back down in his seat. His hand immediately went to Bella's thigh.

"Not much." Bella said, looking down at her menu. When she ducked her head, I could just barely make out a hickey right behind her ear.

This was going to be an awkward night.

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**Imagine how weird that would be…anyway, please review!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	3. Chapter 3

**We all know what's going to happen later in this story…but I promise to add some twists so that it isn't overly predictable!**

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BPOV

"Was that so bad?" Carlisle whispered in my ear as we walked in the front door of his estate.

"It was alright." I allowed, resting my head on his shoulder. "I think they like me, I just think they're a little…weirded out by my age." Carlisle sighed and dropped his keys on the table in the foyer.

"Well, they'll be staying with us all summer so they'll have plenty time to adjust." Carlisle stipulated, loosening his tie. He looked out the huge picture window and gestured to the headlights at the end of the winding driveway. "They're here- do you want to get changed?"

"Yeah." I sighed, following Carlisle up the sweeping grand staircase. "These shoes are so uncomfortable." I groaned when we reached the end of the long second floor hallway, pausing in the door of our room to kick them off.

"Here, let me help." Carlisle said, leading me to the edge of the bed and kneeling down in front of me. His large, warm hands gently rubbed at the sore soles of my feet, dulling the sharp ache. "Better?" He asked quietly after a few minutes, kissing the top of my foot before standing up and pulling me up as well.

I curled my toes and nodded, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him.

"Much. Now, I need to get out of this dress." I said, awkwardly twisting around in an attempt to unzip my dress. Carlisle chuckled and reached behind me, locating the zipper easily and pulling it down so that the blue dress slid off of my body and to the floor. A little self-conscious, I folded my arms across my chest in an attempt to cover my lace clad body.

Carlisle frowned and took my arms, pulling them away from my body.

"Why do you always do that?" He asked, pressing a reverent kiss the to the cleavage that my bra created. "You're so beautiful, Bella. Everything about you is." I blushed and walked to the closet; knowing that Carlisle was watching me. I selected a green tee shirt of Carlisle's and a pair of black shorts. He came up behind me and began methodically unbuttoning his shirt.

"Here, let me help." I murmured, mimicking his earlier words. My usually clumsy fingers easily unbuttoned his shirt, and I let my fingers skim across the smooth muscles on his chest.

"Thank you." He said, kissing me and slipping a tee shirt on, but leaving his dress pants. "Now, everyone is downstairs, so let's get down there."

EPOV

"I like her." Emmett muttered as we walked into the house. "She's cool."

It was true. Unlike the mindless idiots our father had dated in the past, Bella actually had a sense of humor and a charismatic personality. After the awkwardness had started to fade, everyone seemed to get along. Bella joked around with Emmett, Jasper, and I, and Alice and Rosalie invited her to go shopping with them.

Despite this, there was still something off. It just seemed so unnatural that a woman as young, intelligent, and beautiful as Bella would be dating someone 22 years older than her.

"She is pretty cool." Jasper said, supporting a slightly-tipsy Alice.

"It's still weird though, right?" Rosalie asked, wrinkling her nose. "She's 22 _years_ younger than him. And she's the same age as the two of you." She gestured to Alice and I.

"I like her." I offered, shoving my hands into my pockets. Emmett smirked at me as we walked into the family room and sprawled out on the couches.

"I saw." He said suggestively. "You were staring at her, little bro."

I shrugged, propping my feet up on the coffee table. "I wasn't _staring_. I was _interested_."

"You stay away from her, Edward." Rosalie warned. "She's dating your father. She's not like Tanya. Or Kate, or Irina, or Carmen, or any of the other girls you've been with. She's in a real relationship, and you shouldn't be screwing it up."

"I'm not going to do anything!" I protested. "And who says she's in a real relationship?"

"Edward, she lives here with dad. She's in love with him. I'd say that's a real relationship." Emmett laughed. "Just promise us you won't go after her or anything. I know she's beautiful, and I know you're into that type of girl. But she's taken."

"Whoa, where did all this come from?" I asked, laughing. "I just said that I liked her."

"Fine. Let's just drop the whole thing." Jasper suggested, glancing down at Alice, who had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. "I'm taking Alice upstairs." He said, standing up and scooping her into his arms. "Tell Carlisle and Bella goodnight for us."

"No need." Carlisle said from the doorway, coming into the room hand-in-hand with Bella. "Night, guys." He said to Jasper, and Bella murmured goodnight as well.

"We were going to watch a movie." Rosalie said conversationally. "Do you guys want to watch?"

Carlisle looked at Bella, who smiled.

"That sounds great." She said, sitting down on the couch next to me. Her arm touched mine and I felt a sudden spark of electricity. Trying to ignore it, I grabbed the remote and turned the TV on while Emmett stood and put the movie in. I cast one more glance at Bella and stiffened. She had shifted so that her legs were tossed over my father's lap and her head was lying on his chest. I watched as Carlisle played with the ends of her hair and held her hand.

They were right. No matter the attraction I felt to Bella, she was dating my father. They were in love, and there was no way in hell I would be the one responsible for a messy breakup.

_Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Cullen_. I though sardonically, and tried to focus on the movie instead of the beautiful girl on the couch next to me.

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**Please review! I love reviews and PM's of all kinds, so don't hesitate. For those of you that have read my story 'What I'd Do For You', please notice that the first two chapters of the epilogue ('Second Chances') are uploaded and on my page.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so who watched the VMA's? Jensen and I did!**

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BPOV

I stretched my arms as the movies end credits played, and arched my neck to kiss Carlisle.

"Ready for bed?" I asked suggestively, grinning. I saw Emmett and Edward flinch, and I immediately blushed. I couldn't believe I had said that in front of his sons. But Carlisle wasn't fazed, he simply nudged me off the couch and stood up along with me.

"Sure. Night, guys." He said, hooking his arm around my neck and kissing me fiercely on the lips.

"Night." They chorused, averting their eyes.

Carlisle and I headed upstairs, and my heart was pounding unbelievably fast. Why was I so nervous? I knew what was going to happen; we'd done this a thousand times before. It was probably the fact that his three children were currently in the house.

When we got into our room, Carlisle quietly closed the door behind us and walked over to me, smiling. Before I knew it, we were kissing passionately, and I knew that I had to stop it. I…I just couldn't do this tonight. I had no idea why, but I couldn't. Carlisle's kisses grew more and more demanding; and I knew that if I didn't stop things this very second, I would let it carry on too far and neither of us would be able to stop. I placed my hands on his chest; gently nudging him backwards. I placed a chaste kiss on his lips and rested my forehead on his shoulder.

"Just not tonight, okay?" I whispered, and he wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my back.

"Okay." He murmured, kissing the top of my head softly. "Do you mind telling me why?" He asked after moment.

I froze for a second, wondering _why_ I wanted to stop. I loved Carlisle, I was _definitely_ physically attracted to him, and our sex life was pretty damn fantastic, but…something was off. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his three children were here, and they would most certainly hear us if we got too loud. Yes, that definitely had something to do with it. I doubted Emmett, Edward, and Alice, let alone Jasper and Rosalie, would want to hear their father and his 23 year old girlfriend having sex.

"Your kids are right down the hall." I finally mumbled. "Won't that be a little weird?"

"You do realize they're going to be with us all summer, right?" Carlisle laughed. "And eventually…"

"Yes, we're definitely going to get back to _it_ eventually, but just not tonight. I'm not even sure if they like me, Carlisle. And if they hear us...ugh that would be so embarrassing!" He sighed and took my chin in his hand, forcing me to look up at him.

"Bella, I'm sure they'll warm up to you." He said calmly, his voice warm. "And if we aren't having sex tonight…I'm going to bed." I laughed and he kissed me sweetly before walking into the giant closet to get changed. I stood still, in the middle of the huge master bedroom, for a moment, twisting my tee shirt in my hands. Carlisle came out of the closet, wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and no shirt.

"I have a request." He said casually, coming over to me again.

"Hmm? What would that be?" I asked playfully, throwing my arms around his shoulders and resting my hands at the nape of his neck; playing with the blonde hair there.

"Well, since we're not having sex…" Carlisle swiftly unhooked my arms from around his neck and slipped his hands under my tee shirt, successfully pulling it over my head. "I request at you sleep-" He paused, hooking his fingers around the elastic of my cotton shorts "in this." Carlisle gently pulled down my shorts, leaving me in my white lace bra and matching panties.

Fighting my automatic instinct to cover my half-naked body, I placed my hands on my lips and raised my eyebrows.

"You're pretty demanding." I teased, and Carlisle laughed.

"I know." He said smugly, his eyes raking my body.

"Fine." I fake-grumbled, bouncing over to the bed. Carlisle followed me, walking over to his side of the giant king-sized bed.

Honestly, the first time I had slept in this bed, it had been intimidating. Everything about this entire house was like that; elaborately sophisticated and refined. But now, it was feeling more and more like home.

I climbed under the covers, rolling towards to middle of the bed. Carlisle joined me, his body forming around mine in a warm, protective type of embrace. He kissed the back of my neck and I pulled at his arms so that they were wrapped tight around me.

"Goodnight, Isabella." He whispered, his warm, sweet breath tickling my ear.

"Goodnight." I said softly, closing my eyes even though I wasn't very tired. I lay awake for several minutes, eventually opening my eyes. "Carlisle?" I murmured, tilting my head just a little so I could look at him. His eyes peeked open slightly.

"Hmm?" He asked groggily, nuzzling my neck.

"Why exactly did you and your wife get divorced?" I asked curiously. "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…I just wanted to know."

"There's not much to tell." Carlisle mumbled. "Esme liked having a doctor as a husband- she just didn't like the long hours that came along with it. After a few years, it came to the point where we only saw in each other early in the morning, very late at night, or at social functions we attended together. Needless to say, towards the end, neither of us was very happy."

"Oh." I sighed. I wanted to hear more; I wanted a true explanation. It had always seemed there was a little more to that divorce than he let on. But he had had a long day, and I knew he was probably exhausted, even though I wasn't. "Okay, I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep." I whispered, lying my head back down comfortably on the down pillow.

I continued to lay awake, staring up at the ceiling that was barely visible in the faint moonlight that streamed in the windows.

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**Ta-da! Okay, I have to go to bed…I, like Carlisle, am very tired. Sweet dreams, twifans!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie.**

**P.S. Oh, and please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**I loved the extended New Moon trailer, it looks like the movie is going to be better than the first one (honestly, that won't be too hard to accomplish). And Robert and Taylor both looked delish. **

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BPOV

I sat up in the middle of the night, breathing heavily and clutching at the sheets.

What the _hell_ was that?

I listened hard, trying to figure out what had woke me up in the middle of the night. It was so dark, I couldn't see an inch in front of my face. After my eyes adjusted a little to the dark, I heard the noise again. My heart was thudding, and I cast a look over at Carlisle. He was sleeping on his side; undisturbed. Gathering up my courage, I slid out of bed and blindly searched the nightstand for my phone. Finally locating, I lit up the screen and held it up, picking up the white dress shirt Carlisle had worn earlier on my way and slipping it on over my bra and panties.

I padded into the hallway, which was dimly lit by a lamp at the end of the hall. I heard the sound again, but I could tell faintly what it was. Voices. Very faint, whispering voices.

"I'll see you tomorrow." A woman's voice said, from somewhere down the hallway. Curious, I walked closer to the voices, nearing Edward's room.

"Alright. 'Night." This voice, I could tell, was Edward's.

I was about to turn around when his door swung open, and a woman with brilliant red hair walked out, putting on her shoes as she went.

"Shit!" She jumped when she saw me, dropping her purse on the ground.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I heard voices, and I-" I was blushing deep red. She started to speak, bending down the pick up her purse, but the door to Edward's bedroom flew open.

"Victoria!? What's going-" Edward stood there, wearing only a pair of green boxer's. "Bella?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Uh…I'm going now." The woman, Victoria, said, pecking Edward on the cheek.

"Bye." He muttered, his eyes on me. We were both silent, staring at each other.

"Um, Bella?" He finally asked, his voice strained.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Your, uh…your shirt isn't buttoned." He said in a strangled voice, training his eyes on my face.

"Oh, oh god!" I gasped, pulling Carlisle's shirt tighter around my half-naked body. "I'm sorry, I heard a noise that woke me up, and I just came out to see what was going on. I should have gotten dressed, or just gone back to bed-" I rambled, buttoning up the shirt as fast as I could.

Edward glanced down, then back up at me.

"It's alright. I think you just scared her." He said, running his hands through his rumpled hair. I nodded, crossing my arms across my chest.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, who was she?" I asked curiously. Edward chuckled and rested against his doorframe.

"That's Victoria. I've kind of been seeing her since I graduated from Yale." He explained, cracking his knuckles.

"Is she your girlfriend?" I persisted, honestly very curious. Edward frowned, shrugging.

"I don't know…I haven't been somebody's _boyfriend_ since high school. I'm more into the 'casual'

relationship. But Victoria is so different from those girls. Even so, I don't have the slightest idea where things will be going between the two of us."

I nodded, feeling a little odd talking about casual relationships, probably meaning casual _sex_, with my boyfriend's son.

"I should probably get back to bed before Carlisle realizes I'm gone." I said softly, looking over my shoulder towards the door of our bedroom.

"Yeah, you should." Edward said, and I gave him a small smile before turned around and hurrying back to bed. "Night, Bella." He said, laughing quietly.

EPOV

Fuck. What kind of woman slept in lace lingerie like that? I mean…I didn't mind when Victoria did it, but Bella? It was a little sick, considering she had been wearing that in my father's bed.

I watched her walk away, her ass swaying under her white button down shirt. A shirt, I soon realized, belonged to my father. Groaning under my breath, I turned around and went back into my room, lightly kicking the door shut behind me.

Why the hell was I so attracted to her? She was dating, and sleeping with, my own father.

But she was so…indescribable. Beautiful, smart, charming, funny, kind, _sexy_. I frowned, looking in the mirror above my dresser. Why couldn't I be serious with a woman? Why had I never the felt the way I feel about Bella with any other women?

Shaking my head, picked up my clothes from the floor and tossed them on the chair in the corner of the room. I threw away the condom wrappers I had discarded on the nightstand and smiled appreciatively when I saw that Victoria had left her bright pink panties on the nightstand as well.

_That woman is amazing. But she isn't Bella…or anything close to her._

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**A bit short, but I have a party for work to get too. Cocktail dresses and stiletto heels…fun. At least I have my hubby to keep me entertained!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	6. Chapter 6

**Party over. I'm really tired, but I decided to get this chapter out. I can only hope you repay me in reviews…**

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BPOV

I opened my eyes to the scorching light pouring in from the huge windows of the master bedroom. Groaning and squeezing my eyes shut, I rolled over in bed so that I was lying on my stomach, still buried underneath the sheets. I suddenly felt weight on the bed beside me and I looked up through my eyelashes. Carlisle sat next to me, fully dressed for work. He leaned over and kissed the nape of my neck before taking my hand.

"Morning." He said cheerfully.

"Ugh." I moaned, closing my eyes again. Carlisle laughed and rolled me over, then scooped me into his arms and stood me up on my feet.

"Alice made us breakfast." He informed me, holding me up so that I didn't stumble on my unsteady legs.

"Breakfast?" I asked sleepily as Carlisle walked me into the closet.

"Breakfast." Carlisle confirmed, smirking as I woke up a bit and shed my bra and underwear from the night before and pulling on a jade green bikini. "Alice said something about eggs and waffles." He added as I slid a black maxi dress on over my bikini.

"Oh. I wanted to make them breakfast on their first morning home." I said, clutching Carlisle's hand.

"Well, I guess Alice beat you to it. She was up when I got up a six to go running."

"Hmm." I pursed my lips and searched around the room for my sunglasses. Carlisle stood near the door, leaning lazily against the wall.

"And I'm warning you now, Bella. Alice is a bit…persistent and hyper. She's quite used to getting things her own way, and being her mother's only daughter…she got away with quite a bit."

"Good to know." I mused, finally locating my sunglasses. Carlisle cast a glance at them as we left our room and headed down the long hallway and towards the delicious smells of breakfast wafting up the stairs.

"What are those for?" He asked, tapping at my sunglasses.

"Oh, I thought that since you had to work, I would sit out at the pool for a little while." I said, grinning.

"Well, don't forget we have that party here tonight." Carlisle said in a serious voice. "_Our_ first." He added with significance.

"Right. I'll only sit out for a little while, then get to work." I said quickly. The party we were throwing tonight for Carlisle's colleagues and their families was the first party we would be throwing together, and the first time I would be meeting all his friends and coworkers. I was very nervous; considering I was the hostess and was pretty much in over my head.

"Sounds good." Carlisle grinned as we entered the huge kitchen/informal dining room. Alice was at work at the stove, while Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie sat at the table, digging into the first batch of food.

"Morning!" Alice chirped; whirling around to face us, spatula in hand.

"Good morning." I managed, immediately reaching for the cup of coffee Carlisle offered me.

"Bella, I hope you don't mind, but I thought maybe I could help you out today." Alice whispered quietly to me as Carlisle took the plate, laden with food, that she offered him and sat down at the head of the table; between Edward and Emmett. "I know you must be kind of stressed over it; it's a huge deal. And I know all about planning parties from my mom-"

"Thanks, Alice. I guess a little help would be appreciated." I said quickly, not wanting to hear about Esme Cullen's fabulous parties. I was worried I wouldn't measure up to her.

"No problem!" She said with a bright smile, handing me a plate teeming with food. She glanced down at my half-drained coffee cup. "And there's more coffee if you want some." She added, pointing to the coffee maker.

"Yeah, I know. I live here, remember?" I said, a little sharper than intended. "Sorry." I muttered, taking my plate and walking over to the table. Edward had taken my usual spot at the kitchen table; directly to Carlisle's right. So instead I took the seat next to Edward, eating the delicious food Alice had made.

She sat down with us soon later, chatting more than eating.

"So, Edward. Are you bringing Victoria tonight?" She asked slyly, taking a sip of her orange juice. Edward gave her a sharp glare and shrugged. Carlisle looked up immediately, obviously interested.

"Who's Victoria?" He asked, setting down his fork.

"Oh, just some girl Edward's been seeing since he graduated." Emmett put in, shoving a huge piece of pancake into his mouth.

"You've been seeing someone?" Carlisle asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm not really _seeing_ her." Edward mumbled, pushing his empty plate back. "She's not my girlfriend or anything."

"Well, you should invite her anyway." Alice said in a very insistent tone. Carlisle shot me a look as if to say 'I told you so'.

"Fine." Edward grumbled, leaning across the table to ruffle his twin sister's hair. She laughed and smacked his hand away, a fake pout on her lips. "I'll see what she's up to." He said grudgingly, getting up from the table, leaving the plate and cup he had been using. "I'll be out by the pool." He called over his shoulder, pulling his white tee shirt off as he walked out onto the patio connected to the pool area.

Carlisle sighed, glancing at his watch. He got up as well, pushing his plate back as he did so. "I have to get to work." He said, leaning over and kissing me goodbye. "I'll see you" he tapped my nose "tonight before the party." I swallowed thickly, shuddering the tiniest bit at the mention of the party. But Carlisle didn't notice; he was busy getting his keys out. "See you guys." He added, waving halfheartedly to those seated at the table. Carlisle found his keys and kissed me one more time before heading off to work.

I finished my breakfast quickly, making light conversation with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie.

After I had finished the delicious breakfast Alice had prepared, I glanced out the huge window through which you could see the pool

Edward was out there, swimming laps.

Hmm…today seemed like a nice day for a swim.

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**I was going to continue on, but I am just so tired I can't. I promise that if I get over 50 reviews the next chapter will be at least twice as long as this one was. Ugh…night night time. My husband just fell asleep in his suit…I'm going to have to wake him up so he doesn't ruin it. This is going to be difficult; hubby likes his sleep.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	7. Chapter 7

**We got over 50 reviews…that means an extra long chapter! Yay! **

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EPOV

I tried to drown out my thoughts of Bella by swimming as hard as I could. But it wasn't working. I was still thinking about her.

As I stopped at the edge of the pool to catch my breath, I heard footsteps nearing the pool. My head snapped up, and I saw Bella walking towards the pool, a pair of sunglasses covering her beautiful brown eyes.

"Sorry to bother you." She said in a melodic voice, stopping in her tracks. "Do you mind if I sit out by the pool?"

"No, of course not." I said quickly, running my hands through my wet hair, sprinkling drops of water everywhere. Bella's eyes were on me, and I smiled at her.

"Enjoy your swim." She said brightly, sinking down into one of the several pool chairs. I nodded and pushed back off the wall, finding it even harder not to think about Bella now. She was less than twenty feet away, and that made my thoughts of her that much more powerful.

After another twenty minutes, I was exhausted. So I climbed out of the pool, reaching for my towel on the chair next to Bella's. She was still wearing her dark tinted glasses, but I could feel her eyes on me. Trying not to stare at her, I dried off quickly and glanced up at the sundial near the pools edge.

"Do you mind if I sit with you for a couple of minutes?" I asked. "I'm completely exhausted." I added, dropping my now damp towel on the ground in a messy heap.

"Sure." She said, waving her hand at the chair next to her. "Do you swim a lot? I can hardly make it for ten minutes without collapsing." She joked lightly as I sat down on the chair.

"No…I only swim in the summer. But Emmett and I go to the gym a lot. Well, Rosalie usually drags us there." I admitted. "She's a big fan of muscle tone."

"Hah, I guess she won't like me much." Bella said lightly, pinching her stomach.

"Ridiculous." I scoffed, and Bella rolled her eyes.

She _was_ being ridiculous; there was absolutely no fat there. Every inch of her body was smooth and luminous, especially in the tiny dark green string-bikini stretched across her full chest and tied at her hips. Frowning, I stared harder at her hip. Something, probably a tattoo, was half hidden by the tie of her bikini bottoms.

"What's this?" I asked, pointing to it; careful not to touch her skin. Bella looked down at it, poking it affectionately.

"Oh, I got it my freshmen year of college." She said casually. "It's just a _B_."

"I like it." I grinned.

"Your father doesn't." She laughed, patting the tiny letter before adjusting the string of her bottoms. "He actually hates it."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" I said under my breath, earning a confused look from Bella.

"I should actually get back inside." She sighed, looking over at the sundial. "I should go find Alice and finalize the party plans." Bella stood up, grabbing her dress from the back of her chair and pulling it on over her head. "Actually…are you bringing that girl? Victoria? I need to know for the whole…uh, seating chart thing."

"I'll ask her and let you know." I promised as she smoothed her dress down and fluffed her mahogany brown hair. "Oh, and Bella? Try and stay out of Alice's path of destruction. She's a force of nature." I winked and Bella blanched. "I'm kidding, Bella. Have fun party planning."

"Thanks." She blushed, ducking her head into the house.

And I just had to watch her go.

BPOV

"Now, how attached are you to this seating chart?" Alice babbled, examining the chart.

"Um, not very-"

"Good. Because I think we need to mix some things up and change this around." Alice continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Like this. You shouldn't put the Mallory's and the Stanley's together- their daughters, Lauren and Jessica, are complete bitches that should be kept apart at all times. Together, they're pretty destructive." She laughed to herself and moved around a few names. "I'd stay away from them if I were you. They'll tear into you like ravenous vampires and suck you dry."

"Wow." I tried to maintain a light tone, but my voice warbled a little bit. I was definitely in over my head. I knew absolutely nothing about these people or how to plan a party like this. It was too much.

"Bella, don't worry. I'm here to help!" Alice said, busying herself with the seating chart again.

"Yeah, thanks for this." I said, tucking a stray curl behind my ear.

"It's not a problem, Bella. I just know we can be great friends." She said earnestly, dropping the seating chart on the table and clutching my hand in hers.

"I would like that." I muttered, and Alice smiled before letting go of my hands. She looked down at the seating chart and then back up at me; her dusty green eyes, the same exact shade as her father's, glowing brightly. "Bella, are you really happy with my father? Do you really love him?" I looked at her, shocked.

"I'm happy." I said quietly, wringing my hands. "And yes, I love Carlisle."

"I'm sorry to ask." Alice mumbled. "It's just that my brothers and I have seen him date all the wrong women since the divorce. They're always the kind of women that he can just use and then toss in the corner. He seems so serious about you, and I just hoped it wasn't one-sided." Alice explained. "It's just that you're so much younger than him, and you seem so-"

"I understand, Alice. It's fine." I looked back down at that stupid seating chart and sighed, resting my face in my hands. "I don't know anything about parties." I sighed, my voice muffled through my hands.

Alice clucked her tongue and picked up the seating chart again.

"You know what? Let's take a break and go get some lunch or something. We could take Rose with us and go shopping!" Alice exclaimed, clapping her hands together. I peeked at her through my fingers and just had to smile. She was so adorable, I couldn't help it.

"I would love that. Except the whole shopping thing…" I admitted. Alice gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth.

"You don't like _shopping_?!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide and disbelieving.

"I'm just not into the whole-" I started to explain, but Edward burst into the room with the redheaded woman from last night on his arm.

"Bella, Alice, Victoria is going be coming to the party tonight." He said, and the woman smiled at me, and her eyes looked a little…mocking.

"That's great!" Alice said happily, getting up and walking over to the two of them. "Victoria, I'm Alice. Edward's twin sister." She grabbed Victoria's hand and shook it earnestly, grinning all the while.

"It's nice to meet you." Victoria said sweetly, her musical voice like honey.

"And this is Bella." Alice turned around and gestured to me.

"Oh, from last night!" Victoria turned her sappy smile on me and gave a little wave. "Is she your other sister?" She asked Edward, raising her eyebrows. Edward smiled smoothly and shook his head.

"Uh, no. She's…dating my _father_." He explained, smirking. Victoria's jaw dropped the tiniest bit, but her facial expression betrayed no emotion.

I blushed, ducking my head. This was exactly the reaction I was always afraid of. People just refused to believe that I could love someone so much older than me, let alone that Carlisle could be serious about our relationship.

"I see." Victoria simpered, looking away from me and back up at Edward, rocking back and forth on her heels. "It was nice meeting you both." She said to Alice and I, barely looking at either of us. Her eyes were fixated on Edward's chiseled face. "Let's go upstairs." She whispered in his ear, and Alice and I both looked away pointedly.

Neither of us needed to know that, but definitely for different reasons.

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**This was longer, but not as long as I wanted it to be. Sadly, the story started to lose steam. But hopefully the next chapter (containing the big bash) will be the long one!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT QUESTION…**

**I was wondering…do you want to see an Edward/Victoria lemon and a Bella/Carlisle lemon? Let me know.**

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EPOV

"So, what's up with you?" Victoria asked, her bare chest still heaving. I laughed and rolled her over, kissing her shoulder blade.

"We just had wild sex in the middle of the day and you want to know 'what's up with me'?" I asked incredulously, sitting up in my bed, pushing the rumpled sheets to the side.

"Yeah, well…" Victoria trailed off and flopped back onto the pillow, her flaming red curls even brighter against the stark white pillowcase.

"Nothing's new." I shrugged, and Victoria sat up next to me and leaned against me, kissing my neck languidly.

"Let's talk about that Bella girl." She said between the open mouthed kisses she was peppering across my neck. I slid my hands to Victoria's waist and pulled her on top of me so that she was perched on my lap. "So, is it weird?" She asked, moaning a little as I kissed behind her ear.

"Hmm?" I asked, preoccupied by the feeling of Victoria's nails gently raking down my neck and back.

"Is it weird?" Victoria asked again. "I mean, she's your age and she's fucking your father. I would go _crazy_ if my mom was dating someone that young, and my relationship with my mom is a lot better than yours and Carlisle's." I frowned, pausing. "Edward?" Victoria asked, halting her assault on my neck. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head and launched my lips to hers, locking them furiously.

"It doesn't matter." I managed to say against her lips before the kiss deepened. "I don't care who Carlisle's screwing." I lied, even though I really _did _care about this particular girl. Bella was so different than the others. Different in the fact that I wanted her for myself. "Did you bring clothes for tonight?" I asked her, pulling away slightly so that we could both catch our breath. "Because I plan on keeping you here all day." I informed her, and Victoria pouted.

"I don't have a dress or anything. I thought I'd stop back home and pick one up, but seeing as you're keeping me prisoner all day…"

"I don't see you complaining." I pointed out,

"True." Victoria yawned, stretching and then falling back against the mountain of pillows behind her. "Hey, Edward?"

"Yeah?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"What does your family think we…are?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"They don't know." I said, resting back on the pillows next to her.

"They haven't asked you about me? You haven't said _anything_?" Victoria asked in disbelief, her tone hurt. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

"Fuck, Victoria…_I_ don't even know what we are. And my siblings are certainly asking questions; I'm just not answering. But I did tell them that you were coming tonight, and they seem happy to be able to meet you." I lied easily, and Victoria seemed calmed by this.

I hadn't even told anyone but Bella and Alice that Victoria would be coming tonight. Sure, Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper all knew that I'd been screwing around with Victoria since the end of my senior year of college. But none of them had really asked me about her. They assumed she was just like all the others…Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, Charlotte, and Zafrina were the only ones they knew about. When I had first gotten involved with each of these women, my siblings had been excited. They thought that I was finally settling down and looking for a relationship. But each time, I managed to avoid the boyfriend thing by making sure the relationship as casual as possible. After awhile, everyone started giving up hope that I would actually bring home a _girlfriend _one day.

Although I am a strong believer in casual sex, I don't go for one night stands. They're just so impersonal and seem so pointless. Yeah, so you get a good screw in, but then you can't go back for more. I thought back over my past relationships, and how each of them had ended.

Tanya had been first, but then I had met Kate and gotten bored with Tanya. Then, Kate ended our little hookups to go back to her high school sweetheart. I went back to Tanya once more, and got bored _again_, and had found Irina. Irina had moved to Boston after a few months, bringing in Carmen. Things went basically nowhere with Carmen, and I found myself with Charlotte. Charlotte had been great, but when I saw Zafrina…I knew I just had to have her. Things had ended soon after, and I had met Victoria at a frat party.

And here we were.

"I'm going to run home." Victoria sighed, sitting up and getting out of bed, gathering up and slipping on her clothes as she went. "And I'll be back before the party starts, alright?"

"Yeah. That sounds fine." I smiled and put on my jeans and an old tee shirt so that I could walk her out to her car.

"Any clothing preferences?" She asked sultry as we walked down the grand staircase.

"Hmm…something that doesn't require you to wear underwear." I suggested, and Victoria giggled, pausing at the door.

"We'll see about that later tonight." She said quietly, kissing me before opening the front door and walking to her car, which was parked out front.

I watched her drive off and then turned back into the house; coming face to face with Jasper and Emmett.

"Shit!" I laughed, smacking Emmett across the back. "Don't do that!"

"Have some fun, Eddie?" Emmett asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively and gesturing towards the door.

"Mind your own damn business, pervert." I smirked.

"Seriously, Edward, who is she?" Jasper asked, following me to the kitchen.

"Come on, spill your dirty little secrets about the smokin' redhead!" Emmett whined as I pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. I rolled my eyes at their childish behavior and shrugged.

"Her name's Victoria. She was in one of my classes last semester-"

"And now you're fucking her?" Emmett interrupted.

"Nicely put." Jasper scoffed, but I nodded.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's basically nothing to me." I said quickly. "We have casual sex, that's it." But I wasn't sure. _Was_ that all our relationship was? Was that all we would be to each other?

"And you're bringing her tonight?" Emmett asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah. Where are the girls?" I asked, desperate to change the subject. Undoubtedly, the Victoria discussion would go places I definitely did not want it to.

"Ali and Rosalie talked Bella into a mini spa day." Jasper explained, the corners of his mouth twitching. "And then they want to go last minute shopping for dresses for tonight. I heard Alice say something about the thrill about shopping at the last moment and I tuned everything out from there."

"And dad will be back from work early, probably so he and Bella can fit in a little…_quality time_." Emmett said, wrinkling his nose. "I was talking to the new maid earlier, and she told me _way_ too much about their relationship." He winced. "I'm still scrubbing the mental images from my mind."

That was not something I needed to hear.

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**Ugh! The characters just took over…no party scene, darn! I am definitely making that into the next chapter, NO MATTER WHAT! I am so tired, though, I feel like collapsing. Work tomorrow, then I hubby and I are going to a concert. I will update tomorrow afternoon, though!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, **_**now**_** we can get to the party. Not sure if I will be able to update later tonight because Jensen, Devon, Paul, Ollie, Matt, and I are going to a concert downtown and have no idea what time we'll be getting back home. If I do update, it will be very late at night and probably a pretty short chapter.**

**Please review!**

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EPOV

"Hey stranger."

I looked up from my tie and saw Victoria standing in the doorway of my room, wearing a tight black dress and a big smile.

"Hey." I smiled back at her as she walked over to me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Let me help." She murmured, gently tying my tie for me. Once she had finished, I kissed her again, this time pulling her closer and resting my hands on her hips. Victoria pulled away after a while, breathing heavily.

"Do you like my dress?" She asked playfully once she managed to catch her breath, splaying out her arms. I laughed and took her hands in mine; looking her up and down.

"You look beautiful." I said honestly, releasing one of her hands and running the pad of my thumb across her jaw.

"Thank you." She said, looking me over as well. "And you look very handsome in your suit." I thanked her with a quick peck on the cheek and peered at my watch.

"You're early." I said, pulling her out of my room and shutting the light off behind me.

"I know." Victoria laughed, following me down the long hallway and towards the stairs. I stopped at the railing, looking at the scene below. Alice, already dressed, was directing waiters around, while Emmett stood in the corner with Rosalie and Jasper; talking and observing Alice's overpowering behavior. Dad and Bella were nowhere to be found. I laced my fingers in Victoria's and started down the stairs, walking at a slow pace so that she didn't trip in her high heels.

"Edward!" The moment my foot hit the bottom of the stairs, Alice was storming over to me. "Where the hell do you get off messing with my seating charts?!" She screeched, and Emmett burst into laughter. Alice whirled around, pointing her manicured finger at him. "Don't even get me started, Emmett Cullen! I know you helped!" With one last stomp of her foot, she turned around and huffed back to the kitchen, shouting at waiters as she went. Victoria stood motionless at my side, obviously very amused by my twin sister's antics.

"So that's Alice." Victoria whispered in my ear, giggling.

"Yep, the one and only." I replied, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her against my side. Before Victoria could reply, I heard footsteps on the stairs behind us. Carlisle and Bella had started to descend the stairs; Carlisle's hand dangerously low on Bella's back.

"Hey guys." Carlisle said easily, approaching us. He looked completely put together, but Bella was a little red in the face and breathing heavily.

It was obvious what they had been doing.

"Hi." I said, and they both smiled at us.

"Who's this?" Carlisle asked, nodding towards Victoria.

"Dad, this is Victoria. Victoria, this is my father. And you remember Bella?" Carlisle shook Victoria's hand and Bella nodded in a friendly fashion, her smile bright.

"It's very nice to meet you both." Victoria said, resting her head against my shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you as well." Carlisle said warmly, patting me on the back. "I'm just glad to see that Edward is finally taking a relationship seriously!" I looked down uncomfortably, and Victoria's smile tightened. We both knew this relationship was not a very serious one. Victoria was simply the only one I had introduced to my father.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go talk to Alice." Bella excused herself, looking around the large room for Alice.

"I saw her head into the kitchen." I offered, and Bella nodded at me in thanks, heading off to join Alice in the kitchen. Carlisle watched her go, a smirk playing on his lips.

I rolled my eyes and tugged on Victoria's waist, pulling her a few steps away from the stairs.

"Dad, we're going to talk to Emmett and Jasper and Rose." I said, and Carlisle nodded.

"Alright. I'll go and make sure Alice doesn't have anyone killed." Carlisle said wryly, and I laughed. Alice definitely needed monitoring.

"I think I like your family already." Victoria whispered as I steered her through the room towards Emmett and Jasper and Rosalie. "They seem hilarious."

"When they want to be." I said dryly, squeezing her hip gently. "But they are definitely a rare breed."

She laughed as we approached the others, interrupting what looked like a boring conversation.

"Emmett, Jasper, Rose, this is Victoria." I said, and they are looked at us with open curiosity. "Victoria, this is my older brother Emmett," Emmett shook Victoria's hand graciously "his fiancée Rosalie," Rosalie and Victoria exchanged hello's. "and this is Alice's boyfriend Jasper."

"It's so great to meet you all." Victoria said sweetly, placing her hand on my chest. "Edward has told me all about you."

"We're all happy to meet you as well." Rosalie said, looking pointedly at me before continuing. "Edward rarely brings anyone to meet us."

I smiled ruefully and started to lead Victoria away before anyone else could contribute to the conversation. It was heading down a road I'd rather not explore.

BPOV

The party was officially in full swing, and I was still petrified. Every single time Carlisle would introduce me, I earned scorning, skeptical looks from women and curious, leering glances from the man. Carlisle didn't seem to notice; he was too preoccupied.

Alice however did rescue me several times, making up a fake problem to get me out of a couple of very awkward conversations.

"Alice, who are they?" I whispered in Alice's ear, still holding Carlisle's hand. He was talking to one of his various golf buddies, and Alice had come over to keep me company. The two women I was talking about were young, around my age, and keep looking at me before whispering in each other's ears.

Alice grimaced before taking a large sip of her champagne.

"Those" she said, tilting her chin towards the women "are the ones I warned you about- Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory. Both of their fathers have worked with Carlisle at the hospital for ages, so they, unfortunately, are always at these things." She explained under her breath.

"They're talking about me, aren't they?" I asked, keeping my face straight. Alice gave my free hand a sympathetic squeeze as she nodded apologetically.

"Just ignore them, Bella. They seriously do not deserve a shred of your attention. Focus on the party, alright? And have some fun!" She released my hand and scanned the crowd. "I'm going to find Jasper…why don't you find Edward? I'm sure he'd be willing to entertain you." Alice said in a chipper voice before disappearing into the throngs of the crowd.

I sighed, debating what to do. I would love to have a real conversation with Edward, he was simply irresistibly charismatic and seemed amazing…but he was here with that Victoria girl, and the last I had seen of the two of them was an hour ago, when I caught a glimpse of them running upstairs, unable to keep their hands off each other.

So I squeezed Carlisle's hand and stepped closer to him, trying not to interrupt the conversation.

"I'm going to check up on some things." I whispered in his ear. "I'll be back in a little bit." He nodded and kissed me on the lips before I turned around and headed aimlessly through the crowd, looking for a familiar face. Luckily, I spotted Emmett towards the door, talking to a woman with warm, light brown hair and a very sweet smile.

"Hi, Emmett." I said cautiously, looking from him to the woman. She was very pretty, and looked like she was in her early 40's. "I'm sorry to intrude, but Carlisle was talking with some of his golf friends, and I-" The woman cleared her throat, instantly looking from me to Emmett uncomfortably. Emmett scratched behind his ear, looking put off.

"Um, Bella, this is my mother. Esme Platt. Mom, this is Bella Swan, dad's, uh, _girlfriend_." The blood instantly rushed to my face the moment Emmett said _my mother_.

Esme Platt. My boyfriend's ex-wife. The mother of his three children. The woman who had spent almost twenty years married to him.

Dammit.

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**Off to party at the concert! Taking a sick day from work, but I will undoubtedly be pretty drunk still/hungover, so I won't be updating til tomorrow night. Maybe. I'll either update this story or 'In Search of Euphoria…yeah, probably 'In Search of Euphoria' instead of this one. **

**  
I still need to know if you want Carlisle/Bella and Edward/Victoria lemons. Let me know ASAP, so I can work them into upcoming chapters.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm probably going to do a half Carlisle/Bella lemon in the next couple of chapters. Not full on, because they are not the main focus of the story. And I'm still debating with the Edward/Victoria lemon…it's still a possibility though.**

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EPOV

I was just walking back into the room when I saw Bella approach Emmett and…_my mother_. There was no way Bella knew who she was, and I had a feeling this was not going to end well. Neither Emmett, Alice, or I had the heart to tell our mother that her ex-husband was dating gorgeous 23 year old woman.

My eyes widened as Bella began talking to an obviously uncomfortable Emmett and my mother glanced Bella over. Words between Bella and Emmett were exchanged, and I saw Bella's jaw drop slightly.

Victoria had just now noticed the whole thing, and she tugged on my arm.

"Isn't that your mom over there with Bella and your brother?" She asked in disbelief. I nodded wordlessly and shook myself out of her grasp.

"I'll be right back." I promised, heading over to Bella, Emmett, and my mother.

Now they all looked uncomfortable, and I couldn't help to notice how shocked and hurt my mother looked. Who could blame her? With all the terrible things that had happened before and in the midst of my parents' divorce, I knew meeting his new girlfriend had to be hard on her.

I approached the three of them, casually tossing one arm around my mother's shoulders and pulling her into a light hug.

I hadn't seen her since Easter, and I honestly had missed the warmth and comfort that she had exuded since before I could remember. That maternal sense was just a part of her.

"Hi, mom. I see you've met Bella." I said easily, pecking her check. She smiled at me; her eyes lighting up and she looked me up and down.

"Yes, sweetie. Emmett was just introducing me." She said a little stiffly. "I've missed you. You look so grown up." She added, her wide eyes a little sad. I instantly felt incredibly guilty; I had been home for awhile now and hadn't gone to visit her.

"I've missed you too." I said, smiling. "And I was planning on dropping in on you tomorrow afternoon."

"That sounds great, Edward!" She said happily. "I feel like I barely know you."

Geez, was she _trying _to make me feel guilty? Despite the fact that I haven't seen her for several months, I have always tried to evenly distribute the time I spent with my parents. In all fairness, before this summer, I hadn't seen my father since February, and it had just been a quick lunch together.

"Don't be ridiculous." I said lightly in an attempt to keep the conversation a happy one. She smiled again and ruffled my hair.

"You're right." She sighed, glancing from me to Bella to Emmett. "Well kids, I'm going to go mingle a little bit. Do you know where Alice is?" She asked, looking around the room desperately. I figured she just didn't want to spend any more time than necessary with Bella.

"She's over there" Bella pointed to the opposite side of the room "with Jasper." My mother smiled tightly and left, her chin held high.

As soon as she was gone, both Emmett and Bella let out huge sighs.

"Thanks, Edward." Emmett said, patting me on the back. "I was definitely at a loss for words there."

"Yes, thank you so much." Bella added, her cheeks flushed red. "I can't believe Alice didn't warn me she would be here!" She exclaimed, and both Emmett and I laughed.

"Alice tends to be forgetful." Emmett said apologetically. His gaze swept across the room, and he suddenly chuckled lightly. "Well, would you look at that? My girlfriend and your girlfriend, getting along." He said loudly, swatting my arm. "Who would have thought?"

"She's not my girlfriend." I said quickly, and both Bella and Emmett raised their eyebrows a bit. "What? She's not! Victoria is just a…friend." I said stubbornly, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Just a friend you've been screwing." Emmett said under his breath, causing Bella to blush and me to roll my eyes. "Come on, Edward. Why don't you bring her around more often? She seems great."

"I know." I scoffed. "That's why I've been seeing her. But I have _never_ been the type of guys to have a girlfriend, at least not since my freshman years of high school." Emmett rolled his eyes this time, and Bella started to say something before two women I despised approached us.

Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley, whose main purposes in life were to humiliate people and make them as uncomfortable as possible.

"Edward and Emmett Cullen!" Lauren exclaimed brightly, tossing her blonde hair back over her exposed shoulders. "It's been too long!"

"Yes, Lauren, it _has_." Emmett said, obviously not upset with the amount of time that had passed since he had last laid eyes on Lauren and Jessica.

"You weren't at the Weber's party last month." Jessica pouted. "I was _so_ looking forward to seeing you guys there. I saw your dad, of course. But not…" her narrowed eyes focused on Bella and glinted maliciously. "you. What's your name?" She asked, both her and Lauren moving a little closer to Bella. I placed a protective hand on her elbow, knowing from years of watching these two torment others, this could get ugly fast.

"Bella Swan." Bella managed, smiling awkwardly.

"Emmett, Edward, why don't you excuse us?" Lauren said, smiling a huge, fake smile.

"I think we'll stay-" Emmett began, but Victoria and Rosalie came up to us, linking arms and talking animatedly.

"Guys, come on!" Rosalie exclaiming, unhooking her arm from Victoria's and grabbing Emmett's hand. "Your mom wants to tell us all something." With that, she and Victoria dragged us away. I glanced at Bella over my shoulder, mouthing "_Sorry!_'. She laughed a little and turned her attention back to Lauren and Jessica, looking at the two of them warily.

_Yes_. I decided. _Bella can certainly handle them_.

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**We'll see the Lauren/Jessica vs. Bella exchange next chapter. I literally spent all day in bed, and I'm still exhausted. Who would have thought?**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	11. Chapter 11

**I took a very long run today, and it was very invigorating. I also burned a lot of calories, which is always good! Too bad I came home to find my husband and his friends, the man-child brigade, dancing around our living room, jamming out to Avril Lavigne. They are all 27 year old straight males.**

**-----**

BPOV

"So, you're dating Carlisle Cullen?" The blonde girl, Lauren, asked.

"Yes." I said slowly, not sure where this was headed.

"What are you, like a golddigger or something?" Lauren snickered. "I mean, he's really, really attractive, but he's like 50 years old."

"He's 45." I corrected her, rolling my eyes.

"And you're what…23, right? The same age as your boyfriends children?" The brunette, Jessica, raised her eyebrows and took a long sip of her drink.

"Those sort of things don't matter to us." I said in what I hoped was a strong voice. "And it really is none of your business."

"Well, we came over here with the intention of _helping _you." Lauren said sharply. "Your precious boyfriend is a player. He cheated on his wife, and since their divorce, he's had tons of girlfriends. It doesn't matter how young you are, you're just like all the others. He's going to drag you along for awhile, then get bored and break your heart."

"It's none of your business." I said again, although my heart was beating fast.

Was this what Carlisle had been hiding from me? The fact that before their marriage went downhill, he had cheated on her?

"Fine. Just remember; we warned you." Lauren sniffed, and the two of them turned away and flounced off to join the rest of the party.

I stood still, practically frozen in place. Why hadn't he told me about something as serious as this? He had always implied that the divorce was Esme's fault, and that _she_ had broken _his_ heart. Was it really the other way around? I jumped when I felt someone come up behind me, and I whirled around, my heart racing.

"Whoa, calm down!" It was Edward.

"I'm sorry." I said, trying to catch my breath. Edward furrowed his brow, looking concerned.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, glancing out into the crowd. "What did Lauren and Jessica say to you?"

"Why did your parents get divorced?" I blurted out. Edward hesitated, his eyes darkening slightly.

"They weren't happy." He said gruffly, not making direct eye contact with me.

"Is that all?" I persisted, gripping his arm. "Because Lauren said-" Edward cut me off, his features drawn and serious. Despite this, I couldn't help but notice he was still extremely attractive.

"I was a teenager when it happened." Edward said sharply. "I don't know the details, nor do I want to. All I know is that everything was fine, and suddenly one day my parents were in the middle of the messiest, most spiteful divorce this town has ever seen." I couldn't tell if he was lying or not; I didn't know him well enough. "If you really want to know all the gory details, you'd be better off asked Carlisle for answers, not me." I was stunned at his behavior, and a little hurt. I hadn't meant to offend him.

"I'm sorry-" I began, reaching out to touch his arm. But he moved away, his eyes searching the crowd of people nearby.

"Don't be. I can take care of myself." He said, then turned abruptly and made his way through the throng of people back to where his siblings, mother, Rosalie, Jasper, and Victoria were standing. They were all looking in my direction, and when Edward rejoined them, I saw their expressions turn to confusion.

Victoria looped her arm around Edward's, whispering something in his ear. His annoyed expression didn't change in the slightest.

I tried to ignore them, and looked desperately around the room for Carlisle. I needed to talk to him; I needed to know the truth.

I knew it wasn't really any of my business; Carlisle hadn't even known me back them. I had been 17 years old when he and his wife had gotten divorced.

But I needed to know if the man I was in love with was really the kind of person who would cheat on his wife. Because I could easily see our relationship go that way, despite our difference in age and the time in which we had known each other. Before tonight, Carlisle had never given me the slightest reason to doubt him. Now, my mind went back to all the nights he worked late and all the opportunities he's had to cheat on me.

I wanted an explanation.

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**This chapter is short, but I'm teaching an art class tomorrow at six in the morning! Ugh! I can't believe I agreed to this…I must have been feeling very generous and awake when I did.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm at my in-laws in Michigan, so I have limited wi-fi. Won't be updating as much, but reviews will give me more motivation and speed me up!**

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BPOV

I jumped when someone trailed their fingers down my arm and then linked them in mine.

"How are you doing?" Carlisle's voice whispered in my ear, tickling the sensitive spot there.

"Fine." I croaked, my mind still racing. Carlisle's free hand trailed to my waist, and his hand squeezed mine tighter. "I need to talk to you. Right now." I managed. Carlisle frowned, dropping his hand from my waist.

"Can't this wait? We have guests, baby." He whined, which was highly uncharacteristic for him. Carlisle was usually very serious, mature, and confident in everything he did.

"No." I said, untangling my hand from his and started towards the stairs. "This is important." I said over my shoulder. Carlisle looked confused, but set his drink down and followed me; looking over his shoulder as he did so. It looked like no one saw us, so this was the perfect moment.

This discussion would be simple, and if Carlisle would just tell me the truth straight out, it would last a matter of minutes.

I walked down the long hallway, taking deep breaths as I heard Carlisle's heavy footsteps behind me. I stepped into our room and instantly sunk down on the huge plush bed, lacing my hands together as Carlisle came into the room and pushed the door shut behind him.

"What?" He asked, sitting down next to me and putting his arm around my waist, his fingers brushing up gently against the inside of my elbow.

"Why did you and Esme get divorced?" I asked, raising my head up to meet his eyes. He hesitated, his eyes searching mine.

"We've already talked about that." He said in a dangerously low voice. "It happened eight years ago, and it's all over now." Carlisle started to kiss me, but I pulled away slightly.

"Did you cheat on your wife?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Carlisle's eyes widened, and he sat back.

"Who told you?" He asked in a strangled voice, rubbing his temples with his long pointer fingers.

"Lauren and Jessica." I said in a monotone.

"Fuck." He spat. I recoiled; not used to hearing him curse like that. "Look Bella, it's all true. But no one, including my children, know about it." Carlisle said quickly, and took my hand. "Is this going to make things difficult?" He asked earnestly, and my heart nearly melted at his tone.

Despite this, Carlisle was the man I loved. And if he gave me an honest explanation, I might be able to find a way to look past the wrongs he had committed in his marriage.

"Not if you tell me the truth. About everything." I said in a strong voice, resting my head on his shoulder. "If you tell me, I can find a way to look past this, and see who you are now. Just tell me." I whispered, and Carlisle took a deep breath and firmly took my chin in his hand.

"You have to understand," He began gravely. "That Esme and I had been in counseling for a year before the affair, we just didn't tell anyone, including our children. Our social lives were so public, we thought it best to keep our personal problems under wraps. But it backfired on us; our lives were divided into two parts. One day, I found out that Esme was thinking about filing for divorce, despite the counseling. And it hurt so badly, I wanted to hurt her back."

"So you had sex with someone else?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes." Carlisle said shamelessly, lifting his chin. "I made a terrible choice, but it's in the past. I told Esme the truth two days after the fact, and she filed for divorce immediately. It was the right path though. Neither of us had been happy with each other for years, we had only stayed together for the sake of our children and because we didn't want our reputations tarnished."

"Is that it?" I asked, holding his gaze.

"That's everything." Carlisle promised, framing my face in his hands. "Is this something you can look past, or should I help you pack up your things?"

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**Mini-cliffhanger, but I gotta go help Jensen's momma with something, and I'm at their neighbor's house, taking their wi-fi!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	13. Chapter 13

**Oh dear god. So I went to the doctor today and apparently I'm impregnated. My husband and I totally flipped and have been bouncing around all day, and then I figured hey, I'll update. **

**I'm not feeling overly great, but I'm really excited, so I've had a lot of energy lately. My due date is May 26.**

**P.S. I have a new story out, it's called "L'amour est Sourd". Here's the summary:**

**Edward has been deaf since birth, and no one understands him until Bella comes along and completely changes his world.**

**Anyway, please check it out if you have time.**

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EPOV

"I think Bella knows about the affair." I whispered in Alice's ear, causing her to jump. "Sorry." I muttered, handing her a glass of champagne.

"She _knows_?!" Alice hissed, her eyes widening as she excepted the glass I offered her. "How in god's name did she find out? I highly doubt dad would have said anything to her; he's like a fucking vault." Alice hardly ever cursed unless she was joking around, so I knew she must have been downing champagne in the back.

"You're trashed already, aren't you?" I laughed, taking the glass away from her. She stuck her tongue out but didn't deny it. "Anyway, I think Lauren and Jessica told her; I saw them hovering around her like fucking vultures earlier."

Alice rolled her eyes and took the champagne back from me, draining it in one gulp.

"Doesn't surprise me." She laughed. "Those bitches know _everything_ about _everyone_." She cast a glance at me over the rim of her crystal champagne glass. "They know everything about me, everything about you, and probably everything about every single person in this damn room."

I raised my eyebrows, scanning the crowded room for Lauren and Jessica. They were standing in the middle of a group of girls, whispering in the ears of all the people around them.

"Damn." I muttered, laughing as Alice tipped her champagne class upside down to collect the last drops. "You know, you drinking like this is only going to get them going. They know about rehab, I presume?"

Alice shrugged and gave me a nonchalant smile.

"Alice!" I groaned. "You've only been out of rehab for alcoholism for five months, and you're already drinking again?"

"I only drink every so often, dumbass." Alice said coolly. "Tonight is different; I'm bored and have nothing to do. _Bella _is the hostess of this party, not me. Speaking of Bella…where did she get off to? I haven't seen her for ages."

Emmett came up behind us, throwing his arms over each of our shoulders.

"She and daddy dearest snuck upstairs an hour ago." He slurred, grinning stupidly.

I grimaced at the thought of my father and Bella together.

"That's disgusting, Em." Alice giggled, and he placed a sloppily kiss on her cheek.

"You're both slobbering drunk." I groaned, slipping out of Emmett's bear like grip.

"Where's your little friend?" Emmett asked, pulling me back into his grasp and shaking me lightly. "I think she made off with my woman."

"Rosalie and Victoria went to go talk with mom out on the patio, Emmett. I'm sure they'll be back soon." I patted him on the shoulder and pulled away from him for a second time."Maybe you two should lay off the drinks." I suggested, grinning.

I found it extremely hilarious when my siblings got drunk- they were both such lightweights, unlike me. I could handle my alcohol. The only thing was that Alice had gone through a drinking problem in the past. It started after our parents' divorce was finalized, and it took a full on intervention to get her into rehab.

I suddenly saw Bella start down the staircase, her expression pinched. Emmett followed my gaze and snorted.

"Hmm, wonder what's up her ass?" He snickered, and when Bella's eyes met mine across the crowded room, I knew that she knew the entire truth. About everything.

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**Sorry this is short, but Desperate Housewives is on, and baby wants a nap. **

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	14. Injury

**Hey everyone, this is Mellie's husband, Jensen. Mel took a spill last night and broke three fingers on her right hand, so she won't be able to type for a while. We went to the hospital to make sure everything was alright, and they told her no typing, writing, or using her hand excessively. So Mel wanted me to type this up for her and post it so you guys would all know what's going on. **

**And she says xoxo, Melodyella aka Mellie**

**And I say bye.**


	15. Chapter 15

**It's picking on up again! Sorry for the delay…but there are only going to be several more chapters left. And I'm sorry to say this chapter is really short…but has plenty of drama.**

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BPOV

"Is this something you can look past, or should I help you pack up your things?" Carlisle asked, and I stared into his blue eyes.

"I can look past it." I murmured, although I wanted more of an explanation. "Thank you for telling me." I whispered softly, closing my eyes. "But please, I want to know everything. Is there anything else you've hidden for me?" I asked, opening my eyes and looking into his again.

Carlisle hesitated, running his fingers through my hair gently. "Alice is a recovering alcoholic." He murmured. "Edward was expelled from four different high school's in the span of one year. Emmet started smoking when he was fifteen. I failed them all as a father."

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. "You didn't." I whispered, stroking his cheek gently. "They're all grown up and successful now, and they're happy." Carlisle nodded, but didn't speak. "I'm going back downstairs, okay? You can come down whenever you want." He nodded again, and I kissed his cheek before getting up and heading towards the door.

As I left the room, my head was spinning. Edward, kicked out of school? Emmet, smoking? Alice, an alcoholic? They all seemed so perfect…how could they hide this all so well?

I stood at the top of the stairs, staring at Edward, Emmet, and Alice, who were talking in a tight cluster near the foot of the grand staircase. Edward glanced up at me with a smile on his face, but when he met my eyes, the smile was gone. I stared at him, my expression steely.

Was it possible I could still be with Carlisle, knowing how much he had hidden from me? All the lies, all the deception…It wasn't something I could deal with. I didn't want to be lied to.

I saw Edward excuse himself from his siblings and come towards me, setting his drink down as he did so.

"Bella…are you alright?" He asked, and I shook my head, biting my cheek.

"I need to talk to you." I said softly.

"My room." Edward offered, taking me by the hand and leading me down the long hallway towards his room. "What's wrong?" He asked as soon as he had closed the door behind us.

I took a deep breath, sinking down onto the couch against the wall. "I need to know if…if some things your father told me are true." Edward stiffened a little bit, but sat down next to me and gestured for me to continue. "Did your father cheat on your mother?" I asked, and Edward slowly nodded. "And…is Alice a recovering alcoholic?"

"Yes." Edward said in hard, cold voice.

"And did you really get kicked out of four high schools?" I asked, dreading the answer for some reason.

"Yes." Edward said again, and I exhaled heavily. "First school, they caught me smoking weed. Second school, I had an affair with a teacher. Third school, I beat some kid half dead. Fourth school, I flunked out."

I stared at him baffled. "But…but you're going to Harvard Law School in the fall." I sputtered. "How in the hell did you managed to get into _two _ivy league colleges?"

"My senior year I went to a boarding school…and I turned things around quite a bit. Plus, it helped that my father went to school there."

And I don't know what happened next. For some reason…I just leaned in and kissed him, hard on the lips. He was surprised and didn't react at first, but then he responded by shoving his tongue into my mouth.

I moaned a little bit and intertwined my fingers in his hair, trying to pull him closer. He tasted delicious, like a mixture of alcohol and mint. Edward's tongue continued to battle with mine, and I felt his hands pull down the straps of my dress and push my lace bra down slightly.

His hands were in the process of unhooking my bra when the door suddenly opened.

I froze, my hands still in Edward's hair and my tongue still tangled with his. Edward froze too, the only movement he made was pulling my bra back into place.

"Edward, get out of here." It was Carlisle.

Edward stood up immediately and hurried out of the room, looking down at the floor as Carlisle glared at me. Edward shut the door behind him and Carlisle moved towards me, his face livid.

"What the hell, Bella?" He spat, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me up. "What the hell was that? I walk in here to see you _this close _to fucking my damn son?" I blushed, readjusting my dress.

"I'm sorry, we were just talking, and then I just-"

"Get out of here, Bella." Carlisle said, his face like stone. "I trust you with my secrets and then you do this? I want you out of this damn house. It's over."

I stared at him, unable to comprehend what he was saying. "What? No, please! I'm sorry, I love-"

"Don't you dare say that." Carlisle said in a low voice, interrupting me. "I don't want to hear it. I'll have _Edward _pack up all your things and then send them to wherever you're going.

"I don't _have _anywhere to go." I whispered, and Carlisle reached into his pocket and threw a handful of bills towards me.

"There. And to think that I loved you." He said with disgust. And then he gave me one last cold gaze and left the room.

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**Review, please!**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	16. Author's Note

**You know nothing good can come of a chapter alert that only has several hundred words. And this is no exception. With the holidays and my pregnancy going on, I'm just way too busy to update as much as I have previously. So just know that I probably won't be updating in the next month or so. I just finished up 'My Love, My Life', and after writing those fifty chapters, plus all the other stories I've been updating, I'm exhausted. **

**So I'm on a hiatus, for now. I will update sometimes, but it will be very scarce. I need a break. I think I've developed carpal tunnel from typing so much, and my eyes sting when I look at a computer screen. Mellie needs a good rest.**

**I hope all of you have a very happy holiday season, and I will see you all again next year.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**

**P.S. Some of you may notice that I deleted some of my stories, including 'Attempts', 'No Regrets', and 'Forbidden'. It's my personal opinion that these stories suck and I don't want them looking me in the face anymore. They are gone, I never want to see them again.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Nothing to say.**

**Oh, except for the fact that I started the sequel to 'My Love, My Life', and I'm trying desperately to take a break from writing, which isn't working out too well for me. I keep getting urges to write…and I really just want to eat a sandwich, watch Glee, and take a nap.**

**But no such luck.**

**I am, however watching Glee while I type this. The Glee songs are now my favorite music, along with Cobra Starship, Fall Out Boy, and, oddly enough, Taylor Swift.**

**Whew, I thought I had nothing to say…but I guess I had quite a bit to say! What a surprise.**

**This isn't going to be a very long chapter. It's just the aftermath of Edward and Bella getting caught by Carlisle, and some of the things that Bella is feeling because of it. I might update my story 'In Search of Euphoria' later today, but you will have to wait to find out. I have most of it written out in a notebook already, and I don't know if I will have time to type it up, seeing as I will be very busy for the rest of the week.**

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BPOV

On one hand, I had brought this upon myself. I had known what I was doing when I had kissed Edward so passionately, but I thought Carlisle loved me. I had just found out so much about his past, and I had still wanted to be with him. Of course, those feelings were gone now. Had I really loved the man who had so cruelly pushed me out of his life without giving me a chance to apologize and explain? I wasn't going to try and justify what I had done with my boyfriend's _son_, but I would have appreciated the chance to explain things.

Now, that was done. I didn't want Carlisle back. Maybe I could have stayed with him after finding out about his past, but not now. There was no chance.

I had stayed upstairs for the rest of the party, mortified. Discarding my gown, I changed into a pair of sweats and tried to pack up only the things I had come for. I didn't want to keep any of the things that man had given me; not the clothes, not the jewelry, nothing. I had then left a note for Carlisle and left it on his bedside table, knowing that he would see it relatively quickly.

_Carlisle,_

_Although I truly am sorry for what I did, I know that I don't want to try and reconcile things; not after the way you treated me. I thought I loved you…but when you denied me the chance to apologize, I realized that I don't want to be with someone who is such a hypocrite. I packed up the things I want to take and I would appreciate it if you would send them to me. You have my phone number, so please call me about my stuff._

_Even though you probably don't even care about me anymore, I really am sorry. It wasn't something I had planned or anything…it just did. Thank you for the things you did for me, though. As badly as this has all ended, you gave me a lot of confidence in the time that we were dating._

_Bella_

I had then slipped out the front door, somehow undetected, and had gotten a room at a cheap hotel nearby. I watched several mindless hours of television until my eyes started to sting with a mixture of exhaustion and tears, and then my cell phone rang and thankfully distracted me.

"Hello?" I answered, my voice cracking slightly as I did so.

"Bella?...It's Edward. I have, um…, I have all your stuff."

My heart started pounding at the sound of his voice, and I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. It was like reality had hit again- I had made out with Edward and let him grope me. And we had been caught by my boyfriend; his father. Even though I was sorry for what had happened, I couldn't deny that what I had felt while kissing Edward was something I hadn't felt so strongly before.

It was the most passion and longing I had ever experienced in my entire life, and I wasn't embarrassed to admit it.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked, sounding concerned, and I swallowed thickly so that I could compose myself before answering. What was I thinking? There was a good chance Edward wouldn't even want to be around me anymore. What we had done earlier tonight had no doubt been wrong…but I had wanted it. And I didn't want him to think it was a mistake, because truth be told…I wanted it to happen again. I could no longer deny that although I had tried to suppress what I felt, I was attracted to Edward and had been since I had met him. That felt so wrong to say or even think…that I had been attracted to my boyfriends son upon meeting him.

"I'll be fine. Can you maybe come here so we can…talk?" I asked, wiping the tears of my face with the sleeve of my ancient sweatshirt. "I really need…" I trailed off, not sure want I needed. A friend? A talk? Him, maybe?

Edward paused for a moment and then I heard a car starting up over the phone line. "Of course I'll come. Just tell me where you are, and I'll be right there."

I told him quickly and without any trace of hesitation, and he promised to be there within ten minutes. After we both hung up, I breathed an easily sigh of relief. At least Edward didn't hate me like Carlisle did.

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**Don't complain about the length of this chapter. I would have made it longer, but I'm going to take a nice rest now. I updated this one instead of 'In Search of Euphoria'. Otherwise, I wouldn't have updated at all.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ugh, this story is just **_**killing **_**me. I cannot seem to get these chapters out, but I am working on it. So this is going to be the finale, and I'm sorry if it's a little short.**

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BPOV, 9 Months Later

I've done of wrong in my life. I've lied, fought, and stolen. But I never thought that I would be the kind of woman who would cheat on the man that she is supposed to love. But when I kissed Edward that night and we got caught, it was what made me realize that I really didn't love Carlisle like I thought I had. The way he had shoved me out of his life without waiting for any kind of explanation showed me that he felt the exact same way. I was a broken mess when Edward had come by the hotel room the next day, and he had taken care of me better than anyone else could have. He told me that he had been fascinated by me when we first met, and that it killed him to know that I was seeing his father. And then he had kissed me again. And again, and again. It was perfect and beautiful and let me know that he really did care for me more than his father ever had.

Eventually, those kisses had escalated into a lot more than just kisses. And now here I was, lying in a hospital bed after giving birth to a seven pound, four ounce little boy.

When we had first discovered that I was pregnant, Edward and I had both panicked. We were in a very committed relationship and we loved each other, but what if this child wasn't Edward's? What if it were his _father's_ child growing in my belly?

Neither of us had spoken to Carlisle since a week after the party. At that point, Edward and I had already professed our love for each other, and Edward had broken up with Victoria. We had gone to Carlisle's house and told him, no matter what he thought, we were now in a relationship and we were going to be together.

And we hadn't spoken to him since, seeing as he hadn't even seemed to care. Alice and Emmet and Rosalie and Jasper had, however, been wonderfully supportive. Alice and Rosalie had helped me decorate the nursery after I had found out I was pregnant, and Jasper had been the one to suggest having a prenatal DNA test done. So as soon as it was safe to do so, Edward and I had gone in together to the hospital. He had waited impatiently in the waiting room for me to be finished. It had been hell getting a DNA sample from Carlisle, but Emmet had managed to sneak a wad of chewed gum out of the house and it had been used as his sample.

By the time the results had come in, I was very, very pregnant. Edward was amazing, although we couldn't even be sure that it was his baby in my belly. The day we got the results back, Edward had proposed to me, and then we had discovered that it was indeed _our _little boy. It was his, and I couldn't be more ecstatic over that fact.

Our little boy.

He had been born after a grueling thirty hour labor, and Edward had been there every step of the way to hold my hand and calm me down and try his hardest to make me more comfortable. But we had yet to name him. I glanced down at my little boy and smiled just as Edward came back into the room with Alice and Emmet on his heels. Alice squealed immediately, rushing over to my side and smiling down at her new, adorable nephew.

"No name yet?" She asked, softly touching his forehead.

"Not yet." I murmured, and Edward came and sat on the foot of the bed. Emmet loomed behind him, crossing his arms across his chest as he surveyed us.

Alice continued to gaze at her nephew, running her hand over his dusting of light bronze hair. "He's so pretty, Bella. Congratulations." She said, leaning over and kissing my forehead and then walking over to Edward and giving him a big hug.

"Dad isn't making an appearance?" I heard Emmet ask Edward, and I glanced up, wondering the answer as well.

Edward grimaced and shook his head. "No. We didn't even tell dad when Bella went into labor. Did you?" He asked, and Alice nodded her head.

"I did. I left him a message when Bella went into labor and then another one telling him that the baby was born." She said. "I know the how situation is messed up, but I thought that maybe he deserved to know that he had a grandchild."

"That was our decision to make, Ali." Edward said softly, rubbing his forward absentmindedly. "But I doubt he'll even do anything about it. Neither of us have seen him for over eight months, I doubt that this will change anything. I doubt that he'll change at all." He sighed, and then his expression became more playful. "Who's he screwing around with these days, anyway? I liked the last girl." He said with a wink towards me, and I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back to my baby.

Emmet chuckled and Alice rolled her eyes but answered his question. "I don't really know- her name is Maria. She's like thirty something and she's an idiot." She informed us, and Emmet nodded in agreement.

"Jacob." I suddenly said, and the three of them turned their attention to me. "I want to name him Jacob. Do you like it?"

"It's perfect, love." Edward said with a smile, leaning over and kissing me chastely on the lips, and then kissing the top of our son's head. "Jacob…what?" He asked, inquiring about what the middle name would be.

"Anthony, after you." I murmured. "Jacob Anthony Cullen…it has a nice ring to it." I said proudly, cradling him closer to my chest and smiling contently. "He's beautiful."

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**Yeah, I'm sorry about the delay and how short the chapter was and everything else, but there's nothing I can really do about it. If you have any questions, just review or PM me.**

**Xoxo- Melodyella aka Mellie**


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